Jul 7, 2004 02:40 PM
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Hollywood, 5:11 PM
Tue Feb 9
57 posts in the last 24 hours
Yesterday, Rush & Molloy (NY Daily News) ran an item about director M. Night Shymalan's supposed opposition to the SciFi Channel's airing of the documentary The Buried Secret of M. Night Shyamalan, in which SciFi's camera followed the director as he filmed his upcoming The Village, due to a "pivotal event" from Shyamalan's past that the doc crew uncovered during filming. Included in the item is the ludicrously ominous quote, "There's one secret that's surrounded by others. We felt that we were finding breadcrumbs through this forest and we followed them." Um, right.
There's also a "leaked memo" from SciFi Channel in circulation, mysteriously referencing "the event [they've] uncovered from 1981." The memo (text presented below) calls for a press blackout, and recommends "that any communication regarding the doc be person to person only. NO EMAILS, CONFERENCE CALLS, OR FURTHER WRITTEN MEMORANDUMS." [Foreboding all-caps theirs.] We hate to ruin anyone's fun, but this whole thing quite reeks of a viral marketing campaign, designed to create buzz around The Village. [Ed. note: Yawn. How long has it been since Blair Witch? Didn't our parents take us out of class early to see that? OMG, whatever you do, don't lose the map!!!]
The text of the "leaked memo" follows. We've helpfully bolded the SPOOKY and MYSTERIOUS parts. What's scarier than vague talk about lawyers?
TO: XXXXXX [Ed.note: We redacted the names ourselves. BOO!]CC: XXXXXX
DATE: June 29, 2004
RE: THE BURIED SECRET OF M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN
As you know, we are receiving pressure from many sources within Night's camp to prevent us from airing the doc. Suffice it to say, things are getting more contentious as we are now being accused of "defamation of character, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress," among other things.
I know you are concerned about including the event we've uncovered from 1981 but we've checked in with our legal team and we are absolutely within our rights to leave the segment as is. Legal will act to protect the individuals and entities tied to the show. However, they are now asking us to discourage the staff from discussing anything they hear or read with press or public. As always, any inquiries need to be referred to David XXXXXX's office for proper handling.
Moving forward, I recommend that any communication regarding the doc be person to person only. NO EMAILS, CONFERENCE CALLS, OR FURTHER WRITTEN MEMORANDUMS. I appreciate your support on this.
Let's put this at the top of the list for Tuesday's staff meeting.
Thanks.
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